Good morning, Newport! Today is Tuesday, July 15, the 196th day of 2025. There are 169 days left in the year.
🚨 You need to know
Aquidneck Islanders will gather in Newport’s historic Washington Square Thursday evening (July 17) to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Congressman John Lewis’s passing as part of a nationwide “
Good Trouble Lives On
” day of action. The candlelit vigil, scheduled for 7:15 p.m. at Eisenhower Park, is one of more than 1,500 local events nationwide that are calling for renewed voting rights protections, racial justice, and dignity for all.
The event is hosted by the Newport Democratic City Committee, Indivisible Island, and Islanders for Democracy, with support from the League of Women Voters of Newport County, Common Cause RI, and local historical preservation groups, including the Newport Middle Passage Port Marker Project and Rhode Island Slave Medallion Project. Hakim Coggins, Executive Director of Newport Bridge, will serve as emcee for the evening’s program.
A distinguished lineup of speakers will address the crowd, including Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore, Common Cause RI Executive Director John Marion, Newport City Councilor Ellen Pinnock, and State Senator Tiara Mack. Congressman Gabe Amo has also been invited to participate. The program will feature presentations from Charles Robert of the Rhode Island Slave History Medallion Project and Victoria Johnson from the Newport Middle Passage Port Marker Project, highlighting the historical connections between Lewis’s civil rights work and Rhode Island’s own complex history with slavery and justice.
The evening will begin at 7:15 p.m. with a community gathering featuring soft music, luminaries, and glow bracelets, followed by formal remarks at 7:30 p.m. The event will conclude at 8:15 p.m. with a moment of silence and a collective pledge to carry forward Lewis’s legacy of non-violent action. Attendees can also register to vote and view storyboards tracing Lewis’s journey from Selma to Congress, with space to pledge their own commitment to “good trouble.”
Here’s what else you should know
🎶 The High Kings, a multi-instrumentalist vocal quartet formed in Dublin in 2008, brought their distinctive blend of traditional Irish music to Newport’s Jane Pickens Film & Event Center (The JPT) for two memorable performances this past weekend. WUN’s Jack Casey was there and shares this
story and photo gallery
.
👉 The stage at the old opera house on Washington Square remains silent, some 23 years after the Newport Performing Arts Center (NPAC) purchased the historic building. When and if it reopens remains a mystery. WUN’s Frank Prosnitz
has the latest
.
🏘️ Last week, 15 properties changed hands across Newport County. Just another sign that the local real estate market continues to move, even amid broader economic shifts. WUN’s Tyler Bernadyn with a look at
what sold
.
🗓️ On tap this week/weekend: Newport Classical, Newport Dance Festival, Save the Bay Swim, Newport Beer Run, Lobster Muddy Festival, and more.
Full Roundup
🚼 The Newport City Council will
convene a special meeting this evening
to consider a resolution advocating for the continued operation of the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center at Newport Hospital, as the facility faces potential closure due to budget constraints.
📰
The Latest from What’sUpNewp
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Portsmouth waterfront estate sells for $2.875 million, marking second highest sale of 2025
Opera House stage remains silent
Things to do in Newport County this week and weekend: July 14 – 20
Tiverton Police arrest woman after infant found alone in vehicle at Bally’s Casino
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📈 Yesterday’s most-read
The following were yesterday’s most-read What’sUpNewp articles.
📅 What’s Up Today
-
Heat Advisory in effect from July 15, 11 AM until July 17, 7 PM
- Today: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8 am. Patchy fog before 10 am. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Southwest wind 6 to 10 mph. The chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts are possible in thunderstorms.
- Tonight: Patchy fog after 11 pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. Southwest wind 6 to 8 mph.
- Today: SSW wind 5 to 9 kt. A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8 am. Patchy fog before 10 am. Seas 1 ft or less.
- Tonight: SW wind 5 to 7 kt. Patchy fog after 11 pm. Seas 1 ft or less.
- The coastal water temperature is 70 degrees.
- Sunrise at 5:25 am. Sunset at 8:17 pm. 14 hours & 52 minutes of sun.
- High tide at 11:54 am. Low tide at 4:58 am & 5:16 pm.
- The lunar phase is a Waning Gibbous.
-
Newport Classical Music Festival
-
11:30 am & 1:30 pm:
Wet Paint Plein Air: Trinity Church
at Newport Art Museum
-
4 pm:
Talla Rouge Works for Two Violas
at The Newport Art Museum
-
4:30 pm:
Puppy Yoga
at Potter League for Animals
-
5:30 pm:
Bike Newport Happy Hour
at Newport Craft
-
6 pm:
Third Beach Yoga
at Third Beach
- 6 pm: Down City Band at Easton’s Beach
- 6 pm: Midnight Honey concert on the lawn of St. John the Evangelist
-
7 pm:
Singles Sunset Cruise (Ages 29 to 35)
at The Lobster Bar
-
8 pm:
An Evening with Broadway Star Jessica Vosk
at The Breakers
-
JPT Film & Event Center:
Materialists
at 4:30 pm,
The Last Class
at 7:30 pm
- Landing: Dan Decristofaro at 12:30 pm, Adam Hanna at 4 pm, John Erickson at 8 pm
-
Narragansett Cafe:
Trivia
at 7 pm
-
Newport Craft:
Indoor Cornhole Tournament
at 7 pm
-
One Pelham East:
Stu Sinclair
at 9 pm
-
Ragged Island Brewing Company:
Dave Alves
at 5 pm
-
Sweet Berry Farm:
The Naticks
at 6 pm
-
Jamestown:
Library Board
at 5 pm
-
Little Compton:
School Committee
at 1 pm
-
Middletown:
Juvenile Hearing Board
at 5:45 pm
-
Newport:
Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Commission
at 5:30 pm,
City Council
at 7 pm
-
Portsmouth:
Town Council
at 6 pm,
Water and Fire District
at 7 pm
-
Tiverton:
Conservation Commission
at 3 pm,
Charter Review Commission
at 6 pm,
School Committee
at 7 pm
Organizing an event?
Submit your event
to What’sUpNewp’s Event Calendar.
More from What’sUpNewp
Obituary: Claire Marie Rayner
What Sold: A look at 15 recent sales in Newport County (July 7 – 11)
Obituary: Mary Panarello
New Newport Hospital President takes helm as City Council prepares to fight for birthing center
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